Beara Peninsula, Glengarriff & Garnish Island

The Beara Peninsula is a very magical place, quiet with not much traffic, rural with both mountains and the sea and tropical as the Gulf Stream comes along the coast here and allows tropical flowers to flourish on Garnish Island. The ferry to Garnish Island which means island of holly, passes Seal Island with families of seals in their natural habitat - great for photos. The wild and beautiful Beara Peninsula is home to the Dzogchen Buddhist Meditation Retreat Centre established in 1987 and perched on the cliff edge of the Atlantic Ocean home to the spiritual care centre where many come for peace and serenity. A drive through the Caha Mountains, tunnels and valleys show spectacular scenery, sheep grazing on the mountain slopes and rural life in this part of Ireland. In Kenmare it is worth seeing one of the original historic Stone Circles in the south west built in the Bronze Age for ritual and ceremonial purposes.